Vice-Minister of Finance V. Markevičienė: "We strengthened the Lithuanian economy by more than EUR 1 billion"
The European Union (EU) investments remain one of the most important sources of public investments. Last year was a record year in terms of new investments in Lithuania, more than EUR 1 billion was poured into the economy of our country.
According to Vice-Minister of Finance Vaida Markevičienė, last year, using the funds of the EU structural funds and the plan "New Generation Lithuania", EUR 1 billion and 355 million were paid out to various private and public sector projects. This is the largest amount disbursed for investments in the last decade.
Priority was given to those areas that are important for creating greater added value in the medium and long term: research, experimental development and innovation, especially in business, as well as the development of information technology and greater energy security.
"It is very important that all EU investments contribute to the long-term growth of the Lithuanian economy. Until now, Lithuania is among the leading countries, efficiently investing European funds; we do not intend to slow down the pace in the future either. In order to strengthen the positive impetus for the economy, we channel funds to areas strategically important to the state. It is crucial that investments are made where the need actually exists and will generate the highest possible return in the future. In addition, thanks to public investments, we strengthened the economy of our country last year by more than EUR 1 billion. Effective implementation of public sector projects contributes to increasing the economy's resilience by solving the problems of energy dependence, so the Lithuanian economy remains on the path of growth, having withstood all geopolitical tensions and inflation jumps," notes V. Markevičienė.
According to V. Markevičienė, Lithuania has a clear ambition that 100% of energy will come from renewable energy sources by 2030, and business has exceptional opportunities to take advantage of those investments. The projects financed by the plan "New Generation Lithuania" and other EU fund investments made it possible to invest in green energy.
According to the Vice-Minister, thanks to public investments, the activity of construction activities has increased significantly. Extremely favourable trends are in the engineering construction segment, which is significantly influenced by projects financed by EU funds, investments in the generation of renewable energy. These trends should continue in the future.
In Lithuania, the construction of 200 MW electricity storage facilities started, which in October last year started operating. This is one of the most important energy projects in terms of national security. By mitigating the impact of climate change and increasing the energy efficiency of residential and municipal public buildings, the renovation of buildings is accelerated.
Also, according to V. Markevičienė, the education and research and innovation sectors received investments last year. The reform "Millennium Schools" envisaged in the plan, the goal of which is to ensure equal educational opportunities for all Lithuanian children, has progressed rapidly.
Business has been given the opportunity to invest in the digitization of companies and move towards a climate-neutral economy.
Last updated: 17-01-2024
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